REPORT Dobanksstillneedbranchnetworks? OptimizationopportunitieswithafocusontheGCCregion Keyfigures Upto 41% potentialincreaseofbranchnetworkproductivityacrosstheGCCregion 623 potentialnumberofbranchesthatcanbefurtherconsolidatedacrosstheGCCregion USD 3.1bn potentialsavingsachievablewithholisticbranchnetworkoptimizationacrosstheGCCregion 2RolandBerger|Dobanksstillneedbranchnetworks? Contents Page 4 Introduction:Thechangingparadigmofbankingbranches 5 Statusquo:BranchnetworksacrossdifferentGCCcountries 7 Recentevolution:Howbranchnetworksrespondtothechangingenvironment 15 Futureopportunities:Whatisthesizeoffurtherbranchnetworkoptimization? 18 Guidingthejourney:Howbankscansuccessfullyharvestthebranchnetworkoptimizationpotential 22 Conclusion:Arebranchnetworksstillrelevant? Cover:1221364427/iStock RolandBerger|Dobanksstillneedbranchnetworks?3 1 Introduction:Thechangingparadigmofbankingbranches Historically,thebankingsectorwascharacterizedbysignificantmarketentrybarriers.Foranewmarketentrant,apartfromregulatorylicensingrequirements,buildingscalewasmostlyamatterofcapitalavailabilityandhavingalargephysicaldistributionnetwork,whichwasalsokeytobuildingtrustandowningthecustomerrelationship. Inmorerecentyears,withdigitalizationbecomingmoreandmorepervasive,includinginthebankingsector,new“digitally-enabled”solutionshavepartiallydisruptedthehistoricaladvantageofowningthecustomerrelationshipviaexpensiveandsizeablebranchfootprints.Newentrantshavefoundinnovativewaystoattackpartsofthebankingvaluechainwithscalablesolutionsthatdonotrequiresignificantinvestmentsinphysicalassets.Fornow,thefocusofthesecompaniesismostlyonsimpleandstandardizedbankingproductsthataddressalargenumberofcustomerswithoutrequiringspecialization(e.g.,payments,investing,moneytransfers),butproductandserviceportfoliosareenrichingyearafteryear,posingincreasingchallengestotheincumbentbanks. Inaddition,therecentpandemicnotonlyboostedcustomerreadinesstoembracedigitalizationbutalsobuiltcustomerexpectationsregardingtheexpectedlevelofdigitalserviceacrossallindustries,includingbanking.Suchaccelerationofthedigitaltransitiongavefurtheradvantagetothedigitalnewentrantsandfurtherquestionedtherelevanceofthetraditionalphysicaldistributionnetworks.Banksthathistoricallyaimedtobuildextensivebranchnetworksasakeysourceofcompetitiveadvantagearenowaskednotonlytoreactbutalso,moreimportantly,tounderstandhowtoeffectivelycapitalizeonthesestructuralchangeshappeninginthebankingsector.Banksnowhaveauniqueopportunitytodeeplyre-thinkthewayinwhichtheyservetheircustomers,harvestingthebenefitsofoptimizingtheirlargebranchnetworkswhileensuringcustomers’needsareaddressedwithappropriatedigitalsolutions. Themainobjectiveofthispublicationistoassesstheimpactofthischangingenvironmentonthetraditionalparadigmofbankingbranches,withaparticularfocusontheGCCregion,answeringthefollowingkeyquestion:Arebranchnetworksstillarelevantsourceofcompetitiveadvantageforbanks? Specifically,fourmainareasareaddressedtoreachthefinalanswer: •OverviewofthecurrentbranchnetworkfootprintsacrosstheGCCregion •InsightsonhowandwhyGCCbranchnetworksevolvedinthelastfewyearsinresponsetothechangingenvironment •Estimationofthefurtheroptimizationpotentialassociatedwiththechangingenvironment •Suggestionsonhowtoensurefullcapitalizationofthebranchnetworkoptimizationpotential Statusquo:BranchnetworksacrossdifferentGCCcountries 2 TheGCCregionhasemergedasadynamiceconomichub,highlightingrapidgrowth,diversification,andmodernizationacrossvarioussectors.Apivotaldriverofthiseconomictransformationisthebankingsector,whichplaysacrucialroleinfacilitatingfinancialservices,fosteringeconomicgrowth,andshapingtheoverallfinanciallandscapeinthisregion.Bankbranches,asphysicalrepresentationsoffinancialinstitutions,constitutetheon-the-ground“arm”ofthebankingsector.Hence,itisimportanttounderstandthecurrentleveloftheirdevelopmentacrosstheregiontogaugethelevelofreachoftheend-usersand,ultimately,theirsupportofeconomicdevelopment. ByobservingthestructuralspecificitiesandrecentevolutionsofbranchnetworksineachoftheGCCcountries,itispossibletoclearlyidentifythreeclustersofcountrieswithsimilarcharacteristics: •Champions(QatarandUAE),wherebankshavealreadygonethroughafewconsolidationwavesandhaveleveragedthehighdigitalreadinessofthepopulationtoenrichtheservicemodelandcomplementoffersthroughdigitalchannels. •Challengers(KSAandBahrain),wherebranches'digitaltransformationiscurrentlyongoing,withphysicalbranchnetworksstillbeingthedominantsaleschannel,andwherethereisastrongeffortbybankstofurtherpromotecustomermigrationtowardonlinechannels. •Laggards(KuwaitandOman),wherephysicalbranchnetworksarestilloversizedcomparedtothebankingmarketsize,beingalsothedominantsaleschannel;digitalizationreadinessandcustomerpropensitytowardsalternativesaleschannelsstillneedtobeelevatedtoenableastructuredphysicalfootprintoptimization. ABranchnetworksizeandmaturityacrosstheGCCcountries Kuwait (72) 22.9 12.7 405 Qatar (83) 16.9 9.5 195 Bahrain (n/a) 193 147 10.5 1.4 443 11.4 Oman (75) 1.0 2,